ABSTRACT
Food insecurity may be associated with poor nutrition, which in turn can increase the risk of adverse nutrition and health outcomes among infants and toddlers. This study was undertaken in 2008 to gain an insight of mothers' views on complementary feeding practices and food security. In this qualitative study, data were collected through 10 Focus Group Discussions [FGDs] with groups of mothers who had under two-year-old children in the urban areas of Damavand [7 FGDs; n=51] and Varamin [3 FGDs; n=29]. Each FGD was held in the presence of a moderator, two note takers, and an observer. All notes were collected, and the emerging themes were reported. In the study, nine general themes were identified: 1] The mothers viewed adequate food as a food, which is useful for health in both quality and quantity; 2] Households have limited access to adequate food because they cannot afford it; 3] In hard situations, household's strategies are: changing the type and amount of food, and buying cheaper foods; 4] In case of poverty, mothers abstain from eating to save food for their children; 5] The mothers viewed complementary feeding as soft, simple and light foods, which are especially made for children; 6] The best time for introducing complementary feeding was 6 months of age; 7] There were no complementary local foods in the region; 8] For under one-year-old children, a different type of food was separately prepared; 9] Home-made complementary food was preferred over the readymade type. Despite mothers' sufficient knowledge about the advantages of complementary feeding, the majority of them had not good performance. This qualitative study provides a foundation and valuable information for future studies on the nutritional health of children in food insecure households
ABSTRACT
The effects of modified waxy maize starch [MWMS] [1-3.25%] on the sensory characteristics of 60% beef sausages were investigated by replacing the varying levels of sunflower oil or both sunflower oil and wheat flour [WF]. The addition of MWMS improved the red color, the palatability, and the overall acceptability compared to the control sausages. The Color was medially and positively correlated with firmness. The correlations between color and taste and between taste with juiciness and firmness were weak and positive. The significant correlations were not observed between palatability and overall acceptability and with the other sensory characteristics. Juiciness was negatively correlated with firmness but was not significantly different. As a result, MWMS offset the effects of lowering the fat content
ABSTRACT
Height measurement is an important part of nutritional assessment especially in children. However, in such cases as hospitalized or certain kinds of malformations or disabilities, height cannot be measured accurately. We aimed to determine appropriate height predictors in Iranian healthy children for further use in disabled and/or hospitalized children. A total of 730 apparently healthy children aged 7-11 years old from both sexes from Tehran, Meshed and Rasht were enrolled in a cross sectional study. Height, demispan [DS], halfspan [HS], arm length [AL] and tibia length [TL] were all measured using a measuring tape. Linear regression models were established between height, DS, HS, AL and TL. For boys AL [R[2]=0.783] and TL [R[2]=0.837] and for girls AL [R[2]=0.720], TL [R[2]=0.765], HS [R[2]=0.771] and age [R[2]=0.775], respectively, entered the linear regression model. When height predictors were evaluated individually for each city, only in Tehran DS also entered the regression model. Concordance of different percentiles of height estimates based on AL with those of actual height proposed this measure as a reliable height proxy for this age group in clinical as well as field practice